Record railway trips on Tomb-Sweeping Day

Passengers' tickets are checked by staff before getting on a train at Wuhan Railway Station on April 4, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - A record high of 9.38 million railway trips were made on Saturday, Tomb-Sweeping Day, authorities said on Sunday.

The figure was an increase of 12.8 percent from that seen on Tomb-Sweeping Day last year, said the China Railway Corporation (CRC).

The festival, which falls around April 5 each year, traditionally sees Chinese honor their ancestors by sweeping their tombs, and the government made the day a public holiday in 2008 to preserve the tradition.

To cope with rising traffic during the period, China added 328 temporary trains on Saturday, while the CRC forecast seven million railway trips on Sunday.